- The Houston Texans, the worst team in the NFL all season, entered Sunday as the favorites to take the first overall pick in the coming draft.
- Instead, the Texans rallied to beat the Colts in stunning fashion, ceding the No. 1 pick to the Chicago Bears.
There was both everything and nothing at stake for the Houston Texans on Sunday, as they played their final game of the regular season against the Indianapolis Colts.
There was nothing, in that both of these teams had long been eliminated from playoff contention, simply playing out the string of their seasons before what would undoubtedly be hard resets by both front offices.
But for the Texans — or at least the stakeholders of the team that were not on the field playing and coaching — there was also everything. After spending the year as the worst team in football, Houston needed just one more loss to secure the No. 1 overall pick in the coming NFL Draft, and with it, the right to select their potential quarterback of the future.
NFL players and coaches never plan on losing a game, but in the front offices, motivations can get murky when taking the long view.
In the second half, it looked as though the Texans would get to hold on to their pick. After taking a 17-7 lead into halftime, Houston gave up a 24-7 run to Indianapolis, leaving the Texans trailing 31-24 with less than four minutes to play in the fourth quarter.
It would have been easy for the Texans to roll over at that point, but head coach Lovie Smith had no interest in doing so, and proceeded to march his team down the field for a potentially game-winning touchdown drive.
The drive was miraculous, with the Texans converting on two fourth-and-long opportunities before finally finding the end zone.
—NFL (@NFL) January 8, 2023
Now trailing 31-30 with the extra point pending, Smith had one more chance to take his foot off the gas. He could kick the extra point and play for overtime, or go for two and try and win the game now.
Smith decided to floor it, and the Texans converted on the aggressive call.
—NFL (@NFL) January 8, 2023
The Texans would hold on for the final 50 seconds and win the game, their second win in the past three weeks after starting the season 1-13-1.
As the Texans were playing, the Chicago Bears lost their season finale to the Vikings, falling to 3-14 on the season, and edging out the Texans for the worst record in football by half a game.
The Bears had swiped the top pick in the 2023 NFL Draft right from the Texans.
As Smith used to coach for the Bears, fans on Twitter were quick to joke that he had been acting as a sleeper agent for his old team.
—Mina Kimes (@minakimes) January 8, 2023
—Keith Jouganatos (@KeithJouganatos) January 9, 2023
—TheHollyJollyHattedGamer (@TheHattedGamer) January 8, 2023
—Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) January 8, 2023
Just hours after the game went final, Smith was fired by the Texans after just one season.
It's the second straight year the Texans head coach has been one-and-done.